F1 News: AlphaTauri CEO Reveals Difficulties Ahead For Mick Schumacher's Return
Former FIA general secretary and new CEO of AlphaTauri, Peter Bayer, has spoken out on Mick Schumacher's hopeful return to the Formula One grid.
The German driver lost his full-time seat with Haas at the end of the 2022 season and with limited availability of a permanent seat elsewhere, Schumacher signed with Mercedes as their reserve driver for 2023. Despite this, Schumacher has remained adamant that he is motivated to return to the grid in a full-time capacity.
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According to Clubs1.bg, Bayer identified how difficult it will be for Schumacher to return. Bayer explained:
"That's the challenge. How to prove that he is fast? It's going to be tough for Mick if Toto [Wolf] doesn't put him in a car quickly. If Daniel [Ricciardo] hadn't set such good times at Silverstone, he wouldn't be with us now."
Leading into 2024, there is again limited seats available. Lewis Hamilton's contract with Mercedes is due to expire but a contract extension is expected to be announced imminently. On top of this, the other drivers with contracts ending are Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg of Haas, but Schumacher is unlikely to return to the American team, Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu, potentially Daniel Ricciardo, and Logan Sargeant.
Sargeant's seat with Williams has been the one which Schumacher has been linked to the most. The American driver has struggled to put any points on the board during the first half of his rookie season, but he has managed to show some significant improvements in the recent races. Williams team principal James Vowles has been open with his satisfaction with Sargeant, however, no contract extensions have been confirmed yet.
